Free to enjoy student life

Caroline Morris with her dialysis machine, at home in Forest Green. Picture: Darren Pepe.

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A FIRST year student from Forest Green can enjoy Read-ing University life to the full now she has a vital piece of medical equipment.

Fresher Caroline Morris, who studies environmental science, has her own on-campus dialysis machine so she doesn’t have to travel home for treatment.

Miss Morris, whose kidneys don’t work properly, said: “Travelling back home or to a local hospital would have adversely affected my social and work life at the university and would have dominated my life. I would also have lost some of my independence which would have been horrible.”

Now Caroline, who has been a patient at Guy’s Hospital in London since childhood, just has to walk around the corner to the student health centre when she needs dialysis.

She said: “I can go to the clinic when I need to go and it means I have the same level of freedom most other students just take for granted.

“I am really enjoying student life and, because there are night nurses on duty at the medical centre, I can dialyse at any time. I’ve been there at 6.30am before now.” Staff at Guy’s hospital worked with Reading University to make the whole thing possible.

David Gandy, technical manager at the hospital, explained that it took just a couple of days to convert a room in the university’s health centre, and another day to install and set up the dialysis equipment.

Lisa Silas, lead nurse for haemodialysis at Guy’s Hos-pital, said: “Caroline’s parents approached the trust for advice about the problem, and staff at the student health centre were very willing to work with us to find a solution.

“Many patients who are on dialysis find that the treatment regime rules their life. It is wonderful to see a young person who is having dialysis treatment leading a normal life and enjoying it so much.

“We try wherever possible to give dialysis patients treatment options and to make the treatment as easy as possible for them, for example opening up satellite dialysis centres so that patients can receive treatment closer to home.”